FED:No school will lose funds, Garrett pledges

AAP General News (Australia)
08-31-2011
FED:No school will lose funds, Garrett pledges

SYDNEY, Aug 31 AAP - No independent school will lose money as a result of the federal
government's review of school funding, School Education Minister Peter Garrett says.

Mr Garrett said it was an "absolute guarantee" that funding for independent and private
schools would be maintained, compared with allocations under the system the Howard government
introduced.

Four draft reports have been unveiled as part of the review, chaired by businessman
David Gonski. It is billed as the most comprehensive review since 1973 and will recommend
a new school funding model by year's end.

"No school will lose a single dollar per student as a consequence of the funding review,"

he told reporters in Sydney on Wednesday.

"The commitment for no school to lose a single dollar per student is an absolute guarantee.

"We've provided funding certainty for the non-government school sector, and Mr Gonski's
panel will provide us with recommendations about any transitional arrangements."

Mr Garrett declined to say if school funding levels would be indexed for inflation.

He said the existing system of school funding lacked transparency.

"There is significant consensus in the education community that we need to have a funding
model that is clearly understandable ... that is fair and that provides a level of consistency
and a framework that everybody understands," he said.

"We don't have that at the moment."

The Gonski review is due to deliver its final report to the government by the end of 2011.

It is accepting submissions until September 30.

Mr Gonski said while the panel was considering "all aspects" of school funding, it
couldn't please everybody.

"The panel acknowledges that some may be concerned, when they read these reports, that
certain aspects of school funding have not been dealt with and may not have been dealt
with adequately in their view," he told reporters.

One of the reports by the Australian Council for Educational Research says a large
pool of funding should be set up to help schools meet costs for students with disabilities.

It says 80 per cent of students with disabilities go to government schools.

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KEYWORD: SCHOOLS

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